Why Businesses Should Upgrade to Google Analytics 4 Now
It’s no secret that Google’s Universal Analytics (UA) is the most widely used analytics tool in the market. According to BuiltWith, over 28 million sites—including 74% of the most popular 10,000—were using the tool as of April 22, 2022. It's widely used for good reason.
But with the benefits of a free tool like UA, it means marketers and businesses are at the mercy of Google’s updates and changes.
Starting in March, Google will automatically create Google Analytics 4 (GA4) properties for any customer who does not set up a GA4 property with basic settings. This means Google will transition your UA account to GA4 without any custom strategy. Google strongly recommends you manually migrate your Universal Analytics settings to GA4.
If you do nothing, a new GA4 property will automatically be created for you, and your Universal Analytics configurations will be copied to the new GA4 property. Not all UA configurations have an obvious GA4 counterpart, and the automated process might not make the same choices as an expert would.
Are you like others out there wondering, “When is the time to switch to GA4?”
Well, here’s your official notice. The countdown is on.
You have less than a year to switch to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or you could lose critical website data.
If you still need convincing to make the change, here are 3 reasons you should change to GA4 now.
1. You can no longer collect data after July 1, 2023.
Universal Analytics was built for a generation of online measurement that was anchored in the desktop web, independent sessions and more easily observable data from cookies. This measurement methodology is quickly becoming obsolete as we all embrace a privacy-conscious digital environment. All standard Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new hits on July 1, 2023. Since Analytics 360 was recently introduced, Universal Analytics 360 properties will receive an additional three months of new hit processing, ending on October 1, 2023. To prevent losing data, we recommend switching to GA4 as soon as possible rather than waiting.
2. You may no longer be able to access your historic data.
After July 1, 2023, you'll be able to access your previously processed data in your Universal Analytics property for 6 months. However, Google has not yet said how long the data will be available after UA is shut down. Can you imagine how much data Google has stored in these properties? And they won't want to store that data forever, of course. We expect to learn more in the coming months about how long Google plans to store that data before it’s no longer available. This is just another reason why it’s important to switch to GA4 sooner than later. We also recommend exporting historical data from UA to GA4 for those interested in preserving their entire UA database.
3. You’ll need time to learn the new interface.
According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, it can take four to six months to truly learn a new skill or tool. We recommend switching to GA4 as soon as possible to give yourself time to learn the tool, understand the reporting system and help it influence your marketing strategy and key performance indicators (KPIs). You can use the information to stand out as the expert in your organization and prepare for conversations about how this reporting will affect your organization's internal and external KPIs. Then, you go roll into 2023 with confidence knowing you successfully made the switch, you understand the interface and you can align your expertise with your organization's growth goals.
This blog is Part Three in a three-part series about what businesses need to know about Google Analytics 4. Learn more by reading Part One titled “Why Google Analytics 4 is a Breath of Fresh Air” or Part Two “What Businesses Need to Know about Google Analytics 4”. If you have questions about these changes or want to connect about what this means for your business, reach out. Let’s discuss how to get your website analytics upgraded.